


Nymphets

by marvelous-mrs-maisel (snowyalice)



Category: Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov, Southern Vampire Mysteries - Charlaine Harris, True Blood (TV)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-28
Updated: 2020-05-28
Packaged: 2021-03-02 18:34:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,357
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24421387
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/snowyalice/pseuds/marvelous-mrs-maisel
Summary: I wrote this a couple of years ago for a university assignment when I had to write apiece of fanfiction where characters from two different texts studied I had studied encounter one another. I wrote this insane piece where Sookie from The Southern Vampire Mysteries/True Blood met Humbert from Lolita and hated myself from coming up with this. Thought I might as well throw it up on here. I've included the original exegesis I wrote as that accompanied the piece at the end of the work.
Kudos: 2





	Nymphets

I noticed him as soon as he walked into Merlotte’s. He was clearly not from around here, his suit much nicer than local folks’ Sunday Bests, far nicer cut than what you’d find around here. It was a light tan colour, his shirt underneath barely blue with a few buttons undone. He was greying in the temples. He held himself as a man who thought himself very handsome, not that he wasn’t, just maybe not as handsome as he thought. If it hadn’t been still light out, I would have sworn he was a vampire. There was that same kind of look, one of controlling one’s self and being able to control others. He grabbed a menu and sat down in a booth within my section.

“Have you seen that guy sitting in your section?” giggled Arlene, as she came over to where I was leaning on the bar. Her earrings jingled as she turned her head to look at him. “Lord the things I’d do to that man.”

“Don’t you find him a bit off?” I asked, pulling out my notebook in preparation to take his order.

“Honey, you think everyone is a bit off.” I rolled my eyes at her as I made my way to the stranger’s table.

Today I just could not block out the voices, and sometimes hearing strangers’ thoughts was worse than hearing those of the local townsfolk. At least they were consistent, and I’d heard it all before. I just hoped it would be something normal, like him thinking about my boobs or something, those thoughts I could deal with.

“Welcome to Merlotte’s. What can I get you?”

He put down his menu and smiled at me, clearly his charm was being turned up to the max.

“What do you recommend, _cher_?” He didn’t say cher like the everyone else did, the Cajun way. His was more traditionally French. His English was slightly accented, European maybe? That would explain his pronunciation. I wasn’t able to dwell on this thought too long as his thoughts began to bombard me.

_Well look at her, perfect. That waspy waistline. Surely, she is a former nymphet. Imagine her at a younger age. Her legs would have been in perfect proportion to her body. No hair. Skin smooth and unblemished. I would have made her mine._

“Well, we make some of the best sweet tea in five parishes.” I tried to keep my voice even. His thoughts reminded me of Uncle Bartlett. And they disgusted me.

_So many sweet young girls in the South, why didn’t I come sooner? Even with all the vampires. I would have found myself a nymphet sooner. Maybe I still can. Could start afresh here, find someone new. Maybe her, even if she’s no longer a classic nymphet. Still even with her age, she is still super tempting._

“Our chicken-fried steak is also particularly good.” I desperately tried to block out the thoughts.

“Well, then a sweet tea and a chicken-fried steak it is then.”

_This one is special, an actual nymphet perhaps? I have heard rumour of the faefolk mingling with humans. A product of such a union? Such a fascinating combination._

“Coming right up.” I exited promptly, not wanting to spend another minute in this man’s thoughts. I needed air.

I needed to be out of here. The blood was pounding in my ears, the world was threatening to slip away from me.

“Sam, I’m going on break”, I said as I handed the order in for Lafayette to prepare.

“No problem Sookie” said Sam. His arms were full of boxes in order to restock the bar, his blue checked button-up rolled up to his elbows. I noticed the was a new carton of Tru Blood to be put away. I wandered out the back, sat down on a step and took a few calming breaths. In, out, in out. I was starting to get dark, the sky taking in purple hues. Bill would be up soon. He’d be over to wait at Merlotte’s until I finished my shift.

The pounding had finally stopped, my heartbeat settling back into its normal rhythm. I got up, brushing the dirt of the back of my black shorts.

Something grabbed me from behind. I went to scream but a hand clamped around my mouth.

“I will let my hand go, but you must not scream.” It was that accented English again. “Do you consent?”

I nodded, and the hand released its grip. He spun me around to face him. His grin was one I had seen before, it was the same one I had seen on vampires when they had found themselves a tasty meal. I had never seen it on a human before, such nonchalance about the current situation.

“Now, _mon cherie_ , how about you tell your name?”

“It’s Sookie.”

“Thank you Sookie, my name is Humbert. Now, Sookie, you seem different, what are you?” His eyes seemed to glint in excitement.

“I’m a waitress.” God, I hated that question. He chuckled.

“That may be true, but we both know that is not all you are, is it?”

“Please let me go.” I was trying to keep the rising hysteria out of my voice and failing.

“Not until you tell me what you are.”

 _Now she would be a fine creature to breed nymphets from, elles pourraint toutes, être aussi jolies que leur mère. Truly from the descendants of the faefolk_.

In the twilight his features had taken on a menacing appearance, one scarier than even the worse vampires I had met. They had only wanted to eat me.

“You let me go, you hear.” I began to struggle. My struggling made him laugh more.

“ _Oh, quel bijou vous êtes._ ” The back of his free hand began to rub up and down my arm.

_Je me sens presque jouir._

I didn’t understand his thoughts at all at this point, but I knew they were not good. Images of young girls flashed in his mind; girls walking to school, girls at the pool, all thoughts of them tinged with the colour of lust. The acts he wanted to perform upon these girls. His thoughts turned to me, big with child, then to that resulting child, all of them with the same lust.

There was a crack. Humbert’s hands dropped from me. His grin was turned away from me as his head was now backwards, face in the dirt as his body lay on the ground. Bill was now standing in front of me in his place.

“I felt your fear” he said, gathering me in his arms. “I can as soon as the sun had set. What happened? What did you do to you?”

He held me for a few minutes before I actually spoke.

“Do you remember what I told you about Uncle Barlett?” I said, my voice still coming out with a few sobs.

“Your funny uncle” he replied, his nose wrinkling at my mention of my late relative.

“Well I read that man’s thoughts and they reminded me exactly of him. What he was going to do was truly awful, what he has done was truly awful.”

Humbert’s lifeless body was still laying in the dirt. Any part of his that had once seemed handsome had seeped away, leaving an old man.

Patrons would soon be turning up to Merlotte’s and would see. I was a miracle no one had already encountered us. I gave the body one hefty kick, repayment for what he would have done. My breathing steadied, and I wiped the last of the tears from my eyes. It wasn’t the first body I had seen, nor the last.

“We need to move the body.” I didn’t want to call him Humbert, to give any kind of humanity to this monster. “People will be here soon.” Bill kissed my forehead and let go of me. Easily scooping up the body, he finally spoke.

“I will be back later to pick you up after you finish work.” And with that he vanished. I took another minute to compose myself before I headed back in to Merlotte’s.

**Author's Note:**

> The combination of Lolita (Nabokov 2008) and Dead Until Dark (Harris 2010) may seem an unlikely one. Lolita has been claimed as a classic, even with its reputation and Dead Until Dark and its television adaption have been dismissed as pop culture trash. But the ideas in both, are about sex and sexual fantasy.
> 
> I found this quote from Lolita as the primary inspiration within writing.  
> “Between the age limits of nine and fourteen there occurs maidens who, to certain bewitched travellers, twice or many times older than they, reveal their true nature which is not human, but nymphic (that, is demoniac); and these chosen creatures I propose to designate as “nymphets” (Nabokov 2008, p.15)
> 
> There was also no denying that due to Sookie’s from Dead Until Dark and True Blood nature of being a part-faerie, there was a certain irony in Humbert’s talk of the nymphet. Within Dead Until Dark and True Blood everyone is undeniably drawn to her, possibly due to possessing “the fae charms of knowledge and innocence” (Hardy & Martin 2010, p.26) that Humbert so craved within his nymphets. The knowledge of faeries with in the True Blood universe meant that Humbert could now not only be seeking nymphet type girls, but also actual nymphets.
> 
> The conflict with Sookie and Humbert, I thought to be an interesting one as Sookie’s previous experiences with her Uncle Barlett within her prepubescent years was reminiscent of Humbert, if not done with as much class. I felt that writing this would be a catharsis, not only myself and the dislike of the character of Humbert, but also for Sookie, having experienced this with her Uncle Barlett, would be able to understand what is happening and maybe there’d be a comeuppance for Humbert.
> 
> One thing with writing this was not just getting into the head of one character, but two. Seeing the character of Humbert from the eyes of Sookie, who also hearing the thoughts of him, giving insight into that character also. Sookie is not new to hearing other’s thoughts in her head, “the extimate voices in her head frequently take form of sexualized and judgmental statements” (Bennet 2016, p. 93), so Humbert’s thoughts, though not new to her, are even more abhorrent than the usual ones she hears. Delving into the thoughts of such a character required time to process truly heinous wants and wishes of the character. Stylistically merging the two books was a challenge. I retained Sookie’s over descriptive traits and for Humbert included his French interludes within his speak (which were helpfully translated into French by my mother). His thoughts, just like in Lolita, change language mid-sentence, emulating that particular writing style where the book switches languages without any translation of what was being said. It helped merge the two styles better thought that same detail of changing languages but still understanding the intent of the words that have been written.
> 
> References  
> Bennet, M 2016 “Sookie and symptom, vampire and void: irruption of the real in True Blood”, PsyArt: a journal for the psychological study of the arts, Vol. 20, pp. 92-103 
> 
> Harris, C 2010 Dead Until Dark, Gollancz, London
> 
> Hardy, J & Martin, A 2011 “The world known to all men”, “Light of my life”: love, time and memory in Nabokov’s Lolita, McFarland & Co, Jefferson, pp. 11-61 
> 
> Nabokov, V 2008 Lolita, Penguin Group, Melbourne
> 
> True Blood 2008-2014, Your Face Goes Here Entertainment, Beverly Hills


End file.
